A gun owner stopped a mass shooting from taking place when an armed 19-year old Brian Nicolai, dressed in tactical gear and helmet, barged into the public safety building in Kwethluk village in the Alaskan southwest coast. The armored shooter pulled a fire alarm and pulled the trigger at the responding Village Police Officers, who could not respond because they are not authorized to carry firearms. Village Police Officer Tiger Lee took cover behind a shipping container while his unarmed backup, Wassillie Nick, joined him.

An armed citizen, Casey Thompson, stepped in and forced Nicolai to surrender before anybody got shot. Police officers in the village only carry batons, pepper spray, and handcuffs, which are not among the best weapons to bring in a gunfight. However, the armed citizen made a difference because he was armed with a gun, whose deterrence power cannot be overestimated.

“Sometimes that show of force helps,” the Deputy Chief David Berezkin said.

Kwethluk’s Public Safety Administrative Chief, Nicolai Joseph, said a disaster was averted. The situation could have escalated if nobody was around to confront the armed shooter. Many mass shooters are opportunists who take advantage of soft targets such as gun-free zones in schools, or in this case, a village where police officers carry pepper spray.

The reason officers lack firearms is because of the lack of funding. The administrators said they could not afford the proper training for the officers, and therefore would rather avoid being responsible for improper firearm use. It is an easy choice when the administrators prefer not to take responsibility for the deaths of innocent residents in the hands of criminals too. Luckily, the Second Amendment allows citizens to defend themselves with firearms.

When Brian pulled the trigger at the responding police officers, he meant business. However, despite his preparations, his assault plans crumbled when faced with the reality of engaging an equally matched armed citizen in a firefight.

When asked what he would have done had the armed resident not turned up, officer Lee said he would have asked Brian what he was feeling and tell him to calm down. Hard to say whether Brian would have heard him amid gunfire, or he would have reciprocated his good gesture. However, the sight of a gun pointed at him made him change his mind, and nobody got shot.

Meanwhile, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is pushing universal background checks in our state, and if left unchecked, it will not be long until we see bills like this getting traction in Austin. Texas is embarrassingly ranked 29th for gun rights, and with the help of the political elites in Austin, we will surely rank among New York, California, and Illinois if left to their own devices. Please join our fight today, and help us restore Texas' place as the standard for the U.S.